Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin questioned Ben Stokes’ technique against spin bowling after the England captain was dismissed in the third Ashes Test in Adelaide. Stokes was bowled by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon in the second innings as England failed to chase down a daunting target of 435 and were all out for 352.
as a result England lost the match by 82 runs — a defeat that sealed the Ashes for Australia and marked England’s fourth consecutive defeat in the country. After their defeat, Ashwin suggested that Ben Stokes himself also needs to take a hard look at his own game.
Ashwin analyzed Stokes’ technique against spin bowling on his YouTube channel, drawing on his own experience bowling to the England all-rounder. Notably, Ashwin has dismissed Stokes the most times in his Test career, having dismissed the England captain 13 times in his career.
Discussing Stokes’ technique, Ashwin mentioned that one cannot bowl spin like fast bowling and one needs to follow the ball from the hand.
“Ben Stokes has been getting to the off-spinners since I’ve been watching him and watching him. Is that question being asked? He’s a wonderful player with the right approach, but you can’t play spin the same way you play fast bowlers. You have to guard the ball from your hand. The theory of playing spin is to get on the pitch vulnerable,” said Ash, if you don’t do it, always do it.
Ashwin also highlighted how non-Asian batsmen rely heavily on sweep and reverse sweep against spin bowling as their defensive technique is not right, leading to their downfall.
“I see a lot of western players like Ben Stokes, Ben Duckett and Aiden Markram doing sweeps or reverse sweeps because their defensive technique against spin is not right. The moment you commit to a sweep, you pick the line early and try to defend it instead of reading what the ball is doing and getting to it,” he said.
Meanwhile, after the defeat in Adelaide, England’s losing streak in Australia extended to four Tests. Their last win on Australian soil came in 2011 when they retained the Ashes with a 3-1 series win under Andrew Strauss. since England played 18 Test matches in Australia, losing 16 of them, with two ending in rain-affected draws.
With two matches left in the series, Ben Stokes and his team will be desperate to salvage some pride and end their long losing streak in Australia. If they fail to do so, they could suffer a 5-0 whitewash for the fourth time in Ashes history.
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Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
December 23, 2025
